15M.—(1) An Appeals Officer appointed under and in accordance with Regulation 11 of the Regulations of 2020 shall be an Appeals Officer for the purposes of this Chapter.

(2) Paragraphs (2), (3), (5), (6) and (7) of Regulation 11 of the Regulations of 2020 shall apply to an Appeals Officer, subject to the following modifications:

(a) a reference to the Regulations of 2020 shall be construed as a reference to this Chapter;

(b) a reference to "licence holder" shall be construed as a reference to the master of a sea-fishing boat;

(c) a reference to an appeal shall be construed as a reference to an appeal under this Chapter;

(d) in paragraph (5), the reference to Regulation 12(11) shall be construed as a reference to section 15N(11).

(3) Should the post of Appeals Officer become vacant, pending the appointment of a new appointee the Authority will suspend—

(a) in a case where the master concerned is an Irish citizen—

(i) the proposal to assign the appropriate points to the master for the serious infringement, and

(ii) the notification to the master of the proposal to assign points,

or

(b) in a case where the master is a national of another Member State—

(i) the notification to the master of the sea-fishing boat concerned of the proposal to notify the competent authority of the Member State of which the master is a national of the detection of the serious infringement, and

(ii) the proposal to notify the competent authority of the Member State of which the master is a national of the serious infringement detected and the number of points appropriate to that infringement.]